As Peter Robinson so cogently states below, in The Corner, “The asking of questions, the stating of conclusions that are only tentative—all are perfectly welcome.” That’s all I mean to be doing here and I wouldn’t want Rick Brookhiser, whom I admire greatly, to misunderstand the arguments I have tentatively offered. In particular, I certainly do not support “free immigration,” which I think is more accurately termed “open borders.” Actually, as this debate proceeds, I feel pushed to consider what I do support regarding immigration. I’d (tentatively) propose that a new and improved US policy should include:
***Controlled and limited legal immigration, with preference toward those from other countries who
*Are eager to embrace American values
*Have skills that are useful to the US economy
*Are fleeing political and/or religious persecution
***No illegal immigration — or at least an end to the extreme tolerance of recent years in regard to those living and working illegally in the US.
***Mandatory bio-metric identification papers for all foreign visitors.
Does that make sense? What else should be included?